Safety Stalls In Ormond Beach

August 2, 1985|By Yellow

Just when it looked as if Volusia County would pull together to get cars off the beaches at night, Ormond Beach is stalling. It's hesitating to follow the example of Daytona Beach. That city banned night driving July 24 in response to a Supreme Court ruling that said cities are liable if a car injures someone on the beach.

The Ormond Beach hesitancy comes only two weeks after the city commission tentatively approved a ban on night beach driving. The new reasoning goes like this: Because Daytona Beach's ban didn't cause hundreds of drivers to put their wheels on Ormond Beach after sundown, Ormond Beach should rethink its course. So the city commission may delay a final decision for 60 days.

People in Ormond Beach ought to be alarmed by this. The real issue is safety, not how many cars crowd the beach. And a huge lawsuit could bankrupt a city. In the last four years, seven people have been killed by cars on Volusia County beaches and all but one of those fatalities happened at night. Ormond Beach should ban night driving now and get on with finding additional parking so that beach driving can be banned both day and night.